Fedor Plevako - judicial speeches. F. N. Plevako: biography
Plevako Fedor Nikiforovich (1842–1908) is the largest pre-revolutionary Russian lawyer, whose name is well known not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders. F. N. Plevako received his legal education at Moscow University. Soon after the introduction of the Judicial Statutes of 1864, he entered the legal profession and was a sworn attorney at the Moscow Judicial Chamber. Gradually, from trial to trial, with his intelligent, heartfelt speeches, he won wide recognition and fame as an outstanding judicial speaker. He always carefully prepared for the case, knew all its circumstances well, was able to deeply analyze evidence and show the court the inner meaning of certain phenomena. His speeches were distinguished by great psychological depth, clarity and simplicity. He illuminated the most complex human relationships and sometimes insoluble everyday situations in an accessible, understandable form for listeners, with special inner warmth. In the words of A.F. Koni, this was “... a person who oratory turned into inspiration."
In court speeches, he did not limit himself to covering only the legal side of the case under consideration. In a number of court appearances, F. N. Plevako touched upon large social issues, which were in the field of view and worried the advanced public.
One cannot forget his angry words addressed to Mother Superior Mitrofania:
“A traveler walking past the high walls of the Vladychny Monastery, entrusted to the moral guidance of this woman, devoutly crosses himself on the golden crosses of the temples and thinks that he is walking past the house of God, and in this house the morning bell aroused the abbess and her servants not to prayer, but to dark deeds !
Instead of a temple there is a stock exchange; instead of praying people there are swindlers and buyers of counterfeit documents; together prayers are an exercise in composing bill texts; instead of deeds of good - preparation for false testimony - this is what was hidden behind the walls.
The monastery walls in our ancient monasteries hide worldly temptations from the monk, but this is not the case with Abbess Mitrofania...
Build higher, higher the walls of the communities entrusted to you, so that the world cannot see the deeds that you do under the “cover of the cassock and monastery!..”
F. N. Plevako also touches on pressing social issues in other speeches. Thus, speaking in defense of the Luthorian peasants who rebelled against inhuman exploitation and immeasurable extortions, he says;
“When we are asked to pay what is not due, we get worried and lose our composure; We worry when we lose either a small share of our income, or something we can gain or fix.
But a man's ruble is rare and comes at a high price. With the blood ruble taken away from him, the happiness and future of his family often go away, eternal slavery begins, eternal dependence on the world-eaters and the rich. Once a broken farm dies, the farmhand is condemned for the rest of his life to seek work from the strong as if it were a blessing, and to kiss the hand that gives him a penny for work that brings benefits to another worth hundreds of rubles, to kiss it like the hand of a benefactor, and to cry and ask for a new benefit, new bonded labor for crumbs of bread and miserable rags.”
Plevako never relied solely on his talent. The basis of his success was great hard work, persistent work on words and thoughts.
F. N. Plevako is the most colorful figure among the largest pre-revolutionary lawyers; he stood out sharply with his bright personality among the pre-revolutionary bar, which was not poor in talented speakers.
A.F. Koni characterized Plevako’s talent this way: “... through the outer appearance of the defender stood a tribune, for whom the matter was only an excuse and who was hampered by the fence of a particular case, which constrained the flapping of his wings, with all their inherent strength.”
Speaking about Plevako, V.V. Veresaev in one of his memoirs conveys the following story about him:
“His main strength lay in his intonation, in the genuine, downright magical infectiousness of feeling with which he knew how to ignite the listener. Therefore, his speeches on paper do not even remotely convey their amazing power.
A priest was tried for committing a serious crime, of which he was completely exposed, and the defendant did not deny guilt.
After the thunderous speech of the prosecutor, Plevako spoke. He rose slowly, pale, agitated. His speech consisted of just a few phrases...
“Gentlemen, jurors! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything - the defendant committed all these crimes and confessed to them. What is there to argue about? But I draw your attention to this. There is a man sitting in front of you who, for THIRTY YEARS, absolved all your sins in confession. Now he is waiting from you: will you forgive him his sin? And he sat down. Talking about another case, Veresaev writes:
“The prosecutors knew Plevako’s strength. An old woman stole a tin teapot that cost less than 50 kopecks. She was a hereditary honorary citizen and, as a person of the privileged class, was subject to trial by jury. Whether by dress or by whim, Plevako acted as the old woman’s defender. The prosecutor decided in advance to paralyze the influence of Plevako’s defensive speech and himself expressed everything that could be said in defense of the old woman: poor old woman, bitter need, the theft is insignificant, the defendant does not evoke indignation, but only pity. But property is sacred. All our civic welfare rests on property; if we allow people to shake it, the country will perish.
Plevako stood up.
– Russia had to endure many troubles, many trials during its more than thousand-year existence. The Pechenegs tormented her, as did the Polovtsians, Tatars and Poles. Twelve tongues attacked her and took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, and only grew stronger and stronger from the trials. But now, now... The old lady stole an old teapot worth 30 kopecks. Russia, of course, cannot stand this; it will perish irrevocably.”
But not only the jury succumbed to the charm of Plevako’s great talent, and the crown judges often found themselves under the spell of his great, strong and subtle psychological influence.
Plevako’s comparisons and images are very strong, convincing, and deeply memorable. Figurative comparisons further enhance the impression of his spectacular speeches.
Plevako’s speech in defense of Bartenev in the case of the murder of artist Visnovskaya is a brilliant example of Russian judicial eloquence. It is distinguished exclusively by psychological depth, a subtle analysis of the mental state of the murdered woman and the defendant. This speech is impeccable in its style and is distinguished by high artistry. The analysis of the psychological state of the young, successful artist and the defendant is given with exceptional depth and talent.
Almost without examining the issues of the crime, and the circumstances of the case did not require this, Plevako, with the brush of a great artist, figuratively paints the situation in which the crime matured.
This speech deeply and truthfully depicts the inner and external world the young, beautiful, talented actress Visnovskaya, who successfully performed on the stage of the Warsaw Imperial Theater. Skillfully touching on and showing the inner springs of the mental discord of a young, highly successful woman, Plevako truthfully depicts the situation of the crime.
This speech rightfully became famous far beyond Russia.
From the speeches presented in the collection, the reader can get a sufficient impression of the work of this talented lawyer and outstanding judicial speaker.
One of the most famous lawyers in our history is Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako (1842 - 1908). He took part in the most famous trials of that time, including political ones, in particular in the case of the Morozov strike of 1886.
Plevako was known for taking on the protection of both the rich and noble, and ordinary people, making no distinction between them and shining with his eloquence in the trials of the poor no less than in high-profile cases. Stories about the trials involving Plevako have survived to this day, turning into funny and witty anecdotes.
I took off my shoes!
Plevako defended a man whom a prostitute accused of rape. The woman demanded a significant amount for the injury. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant lured her to a hotel room and raped her there. The man stated that everything was by good agreement. The last word for Plevako.
“Gentlemen of the jury,” he said. “If you sentence my client to a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff soiled with her shoes.”
The prostitute jumps up and shouts: “It’s not true! I took off my shoes!!!”
There is laughter in the hall. The defendant is acquitted.
15 years of unfair reproach
One day Plevako received a case regarding the murder of his wife by a man. Plevako came to the trial as usual, calm and confident of success, and without any papers or cheat sheets. And so, when it was the turn of the defense, Plevako stood up and said:
The noise in the hall began to subside. Spit again:
Gentlemen of the jury!
There was dead silence in the hall. Lawyer again:
Gentlemen of the jury!
There was a slight rustle in the hall, but the speech did not begin. Again:
Gentlemen of the jury!
Here the dissatisfied roar of the people, who had been waiting for the long-awaited spectacle, echoed in the hall. And Plevako again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
At this point the audience exploded with indignation, perceiving everything as a mockery of the respectable audience. And from the podium again:
Gentlemen of the jury!
Something unimaginable began. The hall roared along with the judge, prosecutor and assessors. And finally, Plevako raised his hand, calling on the people to calm down.
The audience froze, then burst into delighted applause. The man was acquitted.
20 minutes
Lawyer Plevako’s defense of the owner of a small shop, a semi-literate woman, who violated the rules on trading hours and closed the trade 20 minutes later than expected, on the eve of some occasion, is very well known. religious holiday. The court hearing in her case was scheduled for 10 o'clock. The court left 10 minutes late. Everyone was present, except for the defender - Plevako. The chairman of the court ordered to find Plevako. About ten minutes later, Plevako, without haste, entered the hall, calmly sat down in the place of protection and opened his briefcase. The chairman of the court reprimanded him for being late. Then Plevako pulled out his watch, looked at it and stated that it was only five minutes past ten on his watch. The chairman pointed out to him that it was already 20 minutes past ten on the wall clock. Plevako asked the chairman:
What time is it on your watch, Your Excellency?
The chairman looked and replied:
At my fifteen minutes past ten.
Plevako turned to the prosecutor:
What about your watch, Mr. Prosecutor?
The prosecutor, clearly wanting to cause trouble for the defense attorney, replied with a malicious smile:
It's already twenty-five minutes past ten on my watch.
He could not know what trap Plevako had set for him and how much he, the prosecutor, helped the defense.
The judicial investigation ended very quickly. Witnesses confirmed that the defendant closed the shop 20 minutes late. The prosecutor asked to find the defendant guilty. The floor was given to Plevako. The speech lasted two minutes. He declared:
The defendant was actually 20 minutes late. But, gentlemen of the jury, she is an old woman, illiterate, and doesn’t know much about watches. You and I are literate and intelligent people. How are things going with your watches? When the wall clock shows 20 minutes, Mr. Chairman has 15 minutes, and Mr. Prosecutor’s clock has 25 minutes. Of course, the most faithful watch- from Mr. Prosecutor. So my watch was 20 minutes slow, so I was 20 minutes late. And I always considered my watch to be very accurate, because I have a gold, Moser watch.
So if Mr. Chairman, according to the prosecutor’s watch, opened the hearing 15 minutes late, and the defense attorney arrived 20 minutes later, then how can one demand that an illiterate trader have best watch and had a better understanding of time than the prosecutor and I?The jury deliberated for one minute and acquitted the defendant.
Absolution
One priest was once tried for some offense. Before the trial, Plevako was asked whether his defense speech was great? To which he replied that his entire speech would consist of one phrase.
And so, after the prosecutor’s indictment, demanding a decent punishment, it was the defense’s turn.
The lawyer stood up and said:
Gentlemen! Remember how many sins your father has forgiven you during his life, so now won’t we forgive him just one sin?!!!
The audience's reaction was appropriate. The priest was acquitted.
Poor Russia!
One high-ranking noblewoman, being bankrupt, having lost her husband and son, deprived of her estate for debts, lived as a hanger-on with some lady, then rented a room and, since she did not have a kettle to boil water, she stole it from the market. And she was tried by the crown court (as a noblewoman).
The prosecutor, seeing Plevako, decided: “Yeah. Now he will play on pity, on the fact that this is a poor woman who lost her husband, went bankrupt... I’ll play on this too.” He came out and said: “Of course, I feel sorry for the woman, she lost her husband, son, etc., my heart bleeds, I myself am ready to go to prison in her place, but... Gentlemen, crown court. The point is, in principle, she took aim at the sacred foundation of our society - private property. Today she stole a teapot, and tomorrow - a cart, and the day after tomorrow something else. This is the destruction of the foundations of our state. And since everything starts small and grows into something huge, that’s why I ask her to be punished, otherwise it threatens our state with huge disasters, the destruction of its foundations.”
The prosecutor received applause. Plevako came out to his place and suddenly turned around, went to the window, stood for a long time, looked. The audience is tense: what is he watching? Plevako came out and said:
“Dear Crown Court! Russia suffered so many troubles: Batu trampled her with horses, and the Teutonic knights raped Mother Russia, twelve languages led by Napoleon Bonaparte came and burned Moscow. Russia has suffered so many troubles, but every time it has risen, risen like a phoenix from the ashes. And now there’s a new misfortune: a woman stole the teapot. Poor Russia! What’s going to happen to you now?”
The audience laughed. The woman was acquitted.
Don't dare to believe!
One Russian landowner ceded part of his land to the peasants without legally formalizing it in any way. Many years later he changed his mind and took the land back. Outraged peasants started riots. They were put on trial. The jury consisted of neighboring landowners; the rebels were threatened with hard labor. The famous lawyer Plevako undertook to defend them. He remained silent throughout the entire process, and at the end he demanded that the peasants be punished even more severely. "For what?" - the judge did not understand. Answer: “To forever wean the peasants from believing the word of a Russian nobleman.” Some of the peasants were acquitted, the rest received minor punishments.
The Omen
Plevako is credited with frequently using the religious mood of jurors in the interests of clients. Once, speaking in a provincial district court, he agreed with the bell ringer of the local church that he would begin ringing the gospel for mass with special accuracy.
The speech of the famous lawyer lasted several hours, and at the end Plevako exclaimed:
If my client is innocent, the Lord will give a sign about it!
And then the bells rang. The jurors crossed themselves. The meeting lasted several minutes, and the foreman announced a not guilty verdict.
In the history of the legal profession Russian Empire there is no brighter personality than Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako, is a man who left a bright mark in the memory of his contemporaries. He deserved this attitude with his enormous talent, and the name Plevako itself became synonymous with eloquence.
He was born on April 13, 1842 in the city of Troitsk, Orenburg province, into a noble family.
The future lawyer began his career as an intern at the Moscow District Court (from 1862-1864). Since 1866 Plevako F.N. in the sworn profession: assistant sworn attorney, since October 1870 sworn attorney for the district of the Moscow Judicial Chamber.
Soon Plevako F.N. gained fame as an outstanding lawyer and court speaker.
Wit, resourcefulness, the ability to instantly respond to an enemy’s remark, to stun the audience with a cascade of unexpected images and comparisons, and appropriately displayed sarcasm - all these qualities were demonstrated in abundance by Plevako.
A characteristic feature of his speeches was improvisation. Plevako never prepared his speeches, but acted according to the situation based on the audience gathered, the place and time of the case. Journalists were constantly present at the trials with his participation, greedily catching every word he said.
Plevako had the habit of starting all his speeches with the phrase: “Gentlemen, it could have been worse.” He never changed his words. One day Plevako undertook to defend a man who raped his daughter. The hall was full as usual, everyone was waiting for the lawyer to begin his speech. Is it really from a favorite phrase? Incredible. Plevako stood up and calmly said: “Gentlemen, it could have been worse.” The hall roared. The judge himself could not stand it either. “What,” he cried, “tell me, what could be worse than this abomination?” “Your honor,” asked Plevako, “what if he raped your daughter?”
The history of legal practice includes many cases involving Plevako, when his intelligence and ingenuity helped achieve the desired result. Here are a few of them.
Once Plevako participated in the defense of an old woman, whose guilt was that she had stolen a tin teapot worth 50 kopecks. The prosecutor, knowing who would act as a lawyer, decided in advance to paralyze the influence of the defense lawyer’s speech, and he himself expressed everything that could be said in favor of the defendant: poor old woman, the need is bitter, the theft is insignificant, the defendant does not evoke indignation, but only pity. But property is sacred, and if people are allowed to encroach on it, the country will perish. After listening to the prosecutor, Plevako stood up and said: “Russia had to endure many troubles and trials during its more than thousand-year existence. The Pechenegs tormented her, the Polovtsians, the Tatars, the Poles. Twelve tongues attacked her and took Moscow. Russia overcame everything, only strengthened and grew from trials. But now, now... the old lady stole a teapot worth 50 kopecks. Russia, of course, cannot stand this; it will perish irrevocably.
The old woman was acquitted.
Once Plevako defended a man whom lung woman behavior, accused her of rape and tried to get a significant amount of money, allegedly for the injury she caused. At the same time, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant lured her to a hotel room and raped her there. The man stated that everything was by good agreement. The last word remained with Plevako.
- Gentlemen of the jury, If you sentence my client to a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff soiled with her shoes.
The woman jumps up and shouts:
- Not true! I took off my shoes!
There is laughter in the hall.
The defendant was acquitted.
The priest was tried. Guilt was proven. The defendant himself admitted everything and repented.
The defense attorney, Plevako, stood up: “Gentlemen of the jury! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything. The defendant himself confessed to all the crimes. What is there to argue about? But I draw your attention to this. A man sits in front of you who has absolved you of your sins in confession for thirty years. Now he is waiting from you: “Will you forgive him his sins!?”
The priest was acquitted.
Plevako’s personality combined integrity and sweep, nihilism and religiosity (Plevako was a lover and connoisseur of church chants), simplicity in everyday life and riotous lordship (Plevako held feasts on specially chartered ships from Nizhny Novgorod to Astrakhan). Taking huge fees from wealthy clients, Plevako defended free of charge the peasants of the village of Lyutorichi who rebelled (in addition, he paid the costs of maintaining all of them for three weeks of the trial).
Plevako's house has always been the center of social and cultural life Moscow at the end of X I X early twentieth century.
Plevako died on January 5, 1909 in Moscow. He was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.
The second half of the 19th century is the “golden age” of the Russian legal profession. The judicial reform of 1864 radically changed the justice system in Russia. Instead of the former secret, closed court, drowning in a sea of papers, appeared open courts juries and an institution of public defenders independent from the state. Among the luminaries of that time, Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako was truly unique - a brilliant speaker who never prepared speeches in advance, but improvised with inspiration and often saved clients from inevitable punishment with his wit alone.
Over the 40 years of his career, the “Moscow Zlatoust” conducted more than 200 trials and won almost all of them. As a rule, these were the highest-profile litigations in the country. People lined up to see Plevako several years in advance. He was distinguished by his good nature and gentleness, and freely helped the poor. Moreover, he gave them shelter in his house and paid expenses for the entire duration of the proceedings. He took human suffering to heart and knew how to speak about it soulfully in court, as if he had gone through it personally. However, in his life there really were enough tragedies and farces - Anews recalls this.
Fedor grew up as a disenfranchised “outcast” under a false name
Fyodor Nikiforovich was born in April 1842 in Troitsk, lost in the Orenburg steppes. His paternal surname is Plevak, his real patronymic is Vasilyevich. He was considered illegitimate, since his parents - a customs official from the Ukrainian or Belarusian impoverished nobles and a Kyrgyz or Kazakh serf - were not in a church marriage. In Russia, until 1902, such children were deprived of all rights and were not considered heirs. The patronymic Nikiforovich and, by the way, the original surname Nikiforov, came to him from godfather, a runaway serf who served his father. Only at the university did Fyodor Nikiforov obtain permission to take his father’s last name, and after graduation, for the sake of euphony, he added the letter O to it, and pronounced it with an emphasis - Plevako. However, he still went down in history as Plevako.
From childhood, Fyodor remembered one particularly humiliating moment: when he, the best second-grader, was amazed by his ability to perform actions in his mind with three digit numbers, was expelled in disgrace from the exemplary Moscow Commercial School simply because he was illegitimate. “God forgive them! They really didn’t know what these narrow-minded people were doing when they performed human sacrifice,” he wrote many years later. He completed his studies at another gymnasium, where his father managed to get him a place after a long ordeal through the authorities, at the cost of his own health.
Fyodor made his first “defensive speech” in infancy - and saved his life
In those days, living unmarried was a great shame for a woman; society considered her a harlot. Ekaterina Stepanovna once confessed to her son that, unable to withstand the constant bullying of her neighbors, she grabbed him, a newborn, and in despair ran to drown himself. But on the cliff itself, Fyodor began to cry, so much so that he instantly brought his distraught mother to her senses.
Ekaterina Stepanovna
Over time this family history was overgrown with fictitious details: that some Cossack stopped the woman and begged her to give him the child to raise, and that then, by a lucky chance, he himself met the boy’s father, who recognized him and returned him home. In such a distorted form, it is still found in lawyer biographies.
Plevako was ugly and clumsy, but he transformed fabulously on the podium
Already at the age of 25, the graduate of the Law Faculty of Moscow University became known as a gifted, strong lawyer, and at the age of 28 he became known as one of the best in Moscow. From his first fee, he bought himself a tailcoat for 200 rubles - a luxury unthinkable at that time. Outwardly, he was unprepossessing: small, slanted, with a sparse beard. But during his performances he looked like an eagle.
This is how Plevako was described by his contemporary, the famous lawyer and judge Anatoly Fedorovich Koni: “The high-cheekbone, angular face of the Kalmyk type with widely spaced eyes, with unruly strands of long black hair could be called ugly if it were not illuminated by the inner beauty that showed through in general animated expression, sometimes in a kind, lion-like smile, sometimes in the fire and sparkle of speaking eyes. His movements were uneven and sometimes awkward; The lawyer's tailcoat sat awkwardly on him, and his lisping voice seemed to run counter to his calling as an orator. But in this voice there were notes of such strength and passion that it captured the listener and conquered him.”
Plevako failed his first case miserably
His first client was a moneylender, to whom Fyodor pawned a cigarette case in order to celebrate either Christmas or Easter with the proceeds of 25 rubles. He asked the young lawyer to help resolve the case of collecting the bill, and Plevako immediately made a mistake on the issue of jurisdiction, filing a petition with the District Court instead of the Trial Chamber. He lost, but not miserably: his performance was generally liked, and the newspapers mentioned his name for the first time in their reports.
Sometimes, by mistake, Plevako's first case is considered to be another of his early lost cases. His client Alexei Maruev was then found guilty of two forgeries and exiled to Siberia, despite the contradictions identified by the lawyer in the testimony of witnesses.
Plevako lost the biggest case of his life
Indeed, it dragged on for 20 years, and even the “genius of words” was unable to do it. This was the divorce proceedings of millionaire Vasily Demidov from the famous clan of “linen kings”. It turned into a deep personal drama for Plevako. Having undertaken to help Demidov’s wife, who was seeking freedom from her unloved husband, he himself fell in love with her and started a family with her.
Maria Demidova
But the relationship could not be legalized until the merchant gave a divorce, and he was stubborn until his death.
Vasily Demidov
The three common children of Plevako and Demidova faced the painfully familiar fate of illegitimate outcasts. Avoiding this at all costs, the lawyer recorded them as foundlings, and only years later was he able to file a petition to assign them their own patronymic and surname.
The eldest daughter of Plevako and Demidova Varvara
Maria Demidova with their common son Sergei
Already legally married: the Plevako couple with children
Having become immensely rich, Plevako fell into riotous lordship
From the age of 36, Fedor Plevako earned huge money. He bought a luxurious two-story mansion on Novinsky Boulevard and lived a bohemian life - he dashed around Moscow in a troika with bells, threw grand drinking parties with gypsies, to whom he threw thousands, sang songs until the morning. And it happened that he chartered a steamer and set off on a voyage along the Volga in a circle of acquaintances and strangers. On these occasions he said that he had gone to stay with a friend in Samara to have a pleasant time chatting by the fireplace.
Novinsky Boulevard at the beginning of the 20th century. In the depths of the frame, opposite the tram, two side wings of Plevako’s house and a garden between them are visible
At the same time, he never refused poor clients and donated huge sums to the crippled and orphans. But he literally extorted wild fees from merchants, demanding payment in advance. They tell how a certain rich man, not understanding the word “advance”, asked Plevako what it was. “Do you know the deposit?” - asked the lawyer. - "I know". - “So the advance is the same deposit, but three times more.”
Plevako was not always sure of the innocence of his clients
One day a crowd of three thousand gathered to listen to the trial, where the famous Plevako spoke. Two brothers were tried for theft during construction, their guilt was obvious. Everyone waited in trepidation that after the lawyer’s speech, the attitude towards the defendants would magically change and they would be acquitted. But the unheard of happened: Plevako jumped up and in the heat of the moment began to prove their guilt, while refuting his own colleague, the second defender, who managed to speak earlier. The jury immediately returned a verdict: guilty.
A sensational rumor immediately spread across Moscow that they themselves higher power they administer justice through Plevako, who enters a state of trance during the trials.
Fyodor Nikiforovich himself clarified his position when defending Alexandra Maksimenko in 1890, who was accused of poisoning her own husband. He said bluntly: “If you ask me if I am convinced of her innocence, I will not say yes, I am convinced.” I don't want to lie. But I am not convinced of her guilt either. When you have to choose between life and death, then all doubts must be resolved in favor of life.”
And yet Plevako avoided knowingly wrong deeds. For example, he refused to defend the notorious swindler Sofya Bluvshtein, nicknamed “Sonka the Golden Pen.”
Shackling Sonya, 1881
Plevako was not an erudite - he often took advantage of his humor and ingenuity
Although he was well read and had an exceptional memory, he was inferior to other luminaries in depth of analysis, logic and consistency. But he surpassed them all in infectious sincerity, emotional power, oratorical inventiveness, he knew how to convince and move, he was a master of beautiful comparisons, loud phrases and unexpected witty antics, which often became the only salvation of his clients. This is evident from his performances, which are still legendary today.
1. Sinful father
An elderly priest was tried for stealing church money. He himself confessed to everything, the witnesses spoke out against him, the prosecutor made a damning speech. Plevako, who made a bet with manufacturer Savva Morozov with Nemirovich-Danchenko as a witness that he would complete his speech in one minute and the priest would be acquitted, remained silent throughout the meeting and did not ask a single question. When his moment came, he only said, sincerely addressing the jury: “Gentlemen of the jury! For more than twenty years, my client has absolved you of your sins. Now he is waiting for you to forgive him his sins once, Russian people!” Father was acquitted.
2. Old lady and teapot
In the trial of the old woman Antonina Pankratyeva, who stole a tin teapot worth 30 kopecks from a merchant’s counter, the prosecutor, wanting to disarm Plevako in advance, himself expressed everything possible in favor of the accused: she herself is poor, and the theft is trivial, and I feel sorry for the old woman... But property is sacred , he continued menacingly, the entire improvement of the country is supported by it, “and if people are allowed to ignore this, Russia will perish.” Plevako stood up and said: “Russia has suffered many troubles and tragedies over a thousand years. Mamai came towards her, and the Pechenegs, Tatars, and Polovtsians tormented her. Napoleon marched against it and took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, and only grew stronger and stronger from the trials. But now... An old woman stole a teapot worth 30 kopecks, and I can’t help but feel creepy. Holy Rus' will not withstand such a test; it will certainly perish.” Pankratyeva was acquitted.
3. A man and a prostitute
Once Plevako had the opportunity to defend a man whom a prostitute accused of rape in order to recover a substantial sum from him. They were about to condemn him when the lawyer took the floor: “Gentlemen of the jury, if you sentence my client to a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff soiled with her shoes.” The indignant girl jumped up: “He’s lying! Why am I a pig to dirty the bed? I took off my shoes!” There was laughter in the hall. Naturally, the man was acquitted.
"Tsar Cannon, Tsar Bell and Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako"
When the brilliant lawyer died at the age of 66 from a broken heart, one of the newspapers wrote: “There were three attractions in Moscow: the Tsar Cannon, the Tsar Bell and Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako. Yesterday our city lost one of them.”
He was buried in front of a huge crowd of people of all classes, both poor and rich, in the cemetery of the Sorrowful Monastery.
Farewell to Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako
When the monastery graveyard was demolished during the Stalin years, out of 2,500 burials, only Plevako’s ashes were allowed to be transferred to the Vagankovskoye cemetery.
Original dilapidated tombstone
On the modern tombstone of the great Russian lawyer is carved a biblical truth, which he used in one of his speeches: “Judge not with hatred, but judge with love, if you want the truth.”
Modern bas-relief
No titleMany judicial speeches During the life of the great lawyer, plevako became anecdotes and even parables passed from mouth to mouth. And a modern lawyer, not by will, but suddenly flaunts an aphorism, calling for help from a brilliant lawyer.
Fedor Nikiforovich Plevako:
“A swear word is an interjection in the folk language”
“Behind the prosecutor is the law, and behind the lawyer is a man with his own destiny, with his own aspirations, and this man climbs onto the lawyer, seeks his protection, and it is very scary to slip with such a burden.”
“There are moments when the soul is indignant at untruth, at the sins of others, indignant in the name of the moral rules in which it believes and lives, and, indignant, strikes the one with whom it is indignant... Thus, Peter strikes a slave who insults his teacher. There is still guilt, incontinence, a lack of love for the fallen, but the guilt is more excusable than the first, for the act is not caused by weakness, not by self-love, but by a jealous love for truth and justice.”
Jokes about court cases with the participation of Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako:
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In one case, Plevako took up the defense of a man who was accused of rape. The victim tried to recover a decent amount of money from the hapless Don Juan as damages. The woman alleged that the accused dragged her into a hotel room and raped her. Man
in response, he retorted that their love affair took place by mutual consent. And now, the brilliant Fyodor Nikiforovich Plevako is speaking to the jury:
“Gentlemen of the jury,” he declares. “If you sentence my client to a fine, then I ask you to deduct from this amount the cost of washing the sheets that the plaintiff soiled with her shoes.”
The woman immediately jumps up and shouts:
- Not true! I took off my shoes!
There is laughter in the hall. The defendant is acquitted.
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Once Plevako defended an elderly priest accused of adultery and theft. By all appearances, the defendant could not count on the favor of the jury. The prosecutor convincingly described the depth of the fall of the clergyman, mired in sins. Finally, Plevako rose from his place.
His speech was brief: “Gentlemen of the jury! The matter is clear. The prosecutor is absolutely right in everything. The defendant committed all these crimes and confessed to them. What is there to argue about? But I draw your attention to this. A man sits in front of you who has absolved you of your sins in confession for thirty years. Now he is waiting from you: will you forgive him his sin?
There is no need to clarify that the priest was acquitted.
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The court was considering the case of an old woman, a hereditary honorary citizen, who stole a tin teapot worth 30 kopecks. The prosecutor, knowing that Plevako would defend her, decided to cut the ground from under his feet and himself described it to the jury hard life the client who forced her to take such a step. The prosecutor even emphasized that the criminal evokes pity, not indignation: “But, gentlemen, private property is sacred, the world order is based on this principle, so if you justify this grandmother, then logically you should justify the revolutionaries too.”
The jury nodded their heads in agreement, and then Plevako began his speech.
He said: “Russia has had to endure many troubles, many trials over more than a thousand years of existence. The Pechenegs tormented her, the Polovtsians, the Tatars, the Poles. Twelve tongues attacked her and took Moscow. Russia endured everything, overcame everything, and only grew stronger and stronger from the trials. But now... The old lady stole an old teapot worth 30 kopecks. Russia, of course, cannot stand this; it will perish irrevocably..."
The old woman was acquitted.
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Plevako had the habit of beginning his speech in court with the phrase: “Gentlemen, it could have been worse.” And no matter what case the lawyer came across, he did not change his phrase. One day Plevako undertook to defend a man who raped his own daughter. The hall was packed, everyone was waiting for the lawyer to begin his defense speech. Is it really from your favorite phrase? Incredible. But Plevako stood up and calmly said: “Gentlemen, it could have been worse.”
And here the judge himself could not stand it. “What,” he cried, “tell me, what could be worse than this abomination?” “Your honor,” asked Plevako, “what if he raped your daughter?”
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Plevako loved to protect women. He stood up for a modest young lady from the provinces who came to the conservatory to study piano. She accidentally stayed in the rooms of "Montenegro" on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, a well-known refuge of vices, not knowing where her cab driver had taken her from the station. And at night, drunken revelers began to break in on her. When the doors began to crack and the girl realized what they were trying to do from her, she jumped out the window from the third floor. Luckily, she fell into a snowdrift, but her arm was broken. The pink dreams of music education.
The prosecutor took the stupidest position in this process:
- I don’t understand: why were you so scared, throwing yourself out the window? After all, you, mademoiselle, could crash to death!
His doubts were resolved by the angry Plevako.
- Do not understand? “So I’ll explain it to you,” he said. - In the Siberian taiga there is an animal, the ermine, which nature has awarded with fur of the purest whiteness. When he is fleeing persecution, and there is a dirty puddle on his way, the ermine prefers to accept death rather than get dirty in the mud!..”
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One day Plevako came across a case regarding the murder of his wife by a man. The lawyer came to the court as usual, calm and confident of success, and without any papers or cheat sheets. And so, when it was the turn of the defense, Plevako stood up and said:
The noise in the hall began to subside. Spit again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
There was dead silence in the hall. Lawyer again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
There was a slight rustle in the hall, but the speech did not begin. Again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
Here the dissatisfied roar of the people, who had been waiting for the long-awaited spectacle, echoed in the hall. And Plevako again:
- Gentlemen of the jury!
Something unimaginable began. The hall roared along with the judge, prosecutor and assessors. And finally, Plevako raised his hand, calling on the people to calm down.
- Well, gentlemen, you couldn’t stand even 15 minutes of my experiment. What was it like for this unfortunate man to listen to 15 years of unfair reproaches and the irritated nagging of his grumpy woman over every insignificant trifle?!
The audience froze, then burst into delighted applause. The man was acquitted.
*
In Kaluga, in the district court, the bankruptcy case of a local merchant was being heard. F.N. was called as the defender of the merchant, who owed a lot of money. Gobber. Let's imagine the then Kaluga of the second half of the 19th century. This is a Russian patriarchal city with a great influence of the Old Believer population. The jurors in the hall are merchants with long beards, philistines in sensitive clothes and intellectuals of good, Christian character. The courthouse was located opposite the cathedral. It was the second week of Great Lent. The whole city gathered to listen to the “star of the legal profession.”
Fyodor Nikiforovich, having studied the case, seriously prepared for a defensive speech, but “for some reason” he was not allowed to speak. Finally, at about 5 pm, the chairman of the court announced:
- The floor belongs to attorney-at-law Feodor Nikiforovich Plevako.
The lawyer leisurely takes his podium, when suddenly at that moment cathedral they struck the big bell for Lenten Vespers. In Moscow style, with a wide sweeping cross Plevako makes sign of the cross and reads loudly: “Lord and Master of my life, the spirit of idleness... do not give it to me. The spirit of chastity... grant me... and do not condemn my brother...”
It was as if something had pierced everyone present. Everyone stood behind the jury. They stood up and listened to the prayer and the judicial ranks. Quietly, almost in a whisper, as if he were in a church, Fyodor Nikolaevich made a small speech, not at all the one he had prepared: “Now the priest has left the altar and, bowing to the ground, reads a prayer that the Lord will give us the strength “not to condemn our brother.” . And at this moment we gathered precisely in order to condemn and condemn our brother. Gentlemen of the jury, go to the deliberation room and there in silence ask your Christian conscience, is your brother, whom you are judging, guilty? The voice of God through your Christian conscience will tell you of his innocence. Give him a fair sentence."
The jury deliberated for five minutes, no more. They returned to the hall, and the foreman announced their decision:
- No, not guilty.
*
Lawyer Plevako’s defense of the owner of a small shop, a semi-literate woman, who violated the rules on trading hours and closed the trade 20 minutes later than expected, on the eve of some religious holiday, is very well known. The court hearing in her case was scheduled for 10 o'clock. The court left 10 minutes late. Everyone was present, except for the defender - Plevako. The chairman of the court ordered to find Plevako. About 10 minutes later, Plevako slowly entered the hall, calmly sat down in the place of protection and opened his briefcase. The chairman of the court reprimanded him for being late. Then Plevako pulled out his watch, looked at it and stated that it was only five minutes past ten on his watch. The chairman pointed out to him that it was already 20 minutes past ten on the wall clock. Plevako asked the chairman: “What time is it on your watch, Your Excellency?” The chairman looked and replied:
- At my fifteen minutes past ten. Plevako turned to the prosecutor:
- What about your watch, Mr. Prosecutor?
The prosecutor, clearly wanting to cause trouble for the defense attorney, replied with a malicious smile:
- It’s already twenty-five minutes past ten on my watch.
He could not know what trap Plevako had set for him and how much he, the prosecutor, helped the defense.
The judicial investigation ended very quickly. Witnesses confirmed that the defendant closed the shop 20 minutes late. The prosecutor asked to find the defendant guilty. The floor was given to Plevako. The speech lasted two minutes. He declared:
- The defendant was really 20 minutes late. But, gentlemen of the jury, she is an old woman, illiterate, and doesn’t know much about watches. You and I are literate and intelligent people. How are things going with your watches? When the wall clock shows 20 minutes, Mr. Chairman has 15 minutes, and Mr. Prosecutor’s clock has 25 minutes. Of course, Mr. Prosecutor has the most reliable watch. So my watch was 20 minutes slow, so I was 20 minutes late. And I always considered my watch to be very accurate, because I have a gold, Moser watch. So if Mr. Chairman, according to the prosecutor’s watch, opened the hearing 15 minutes late, and the defense attorney arrived 20 minutes later, then how can you demand that an illiterate trader have a better watch and have a better understanding of time than the prosecutor and I?”
The jury deliberated for one minute and acquitted the defendant.
Plevako especially loved to protect women. Once he stood up for a modest girl who came from the provinces to study piano at the conservatory. The cab driver took her to the Montenegro rooms on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, a well-known refuge of vices, but she thought it was an ordinary hotel.
At night, drunken revelers began to break in on her, and the girl, hearing the sound of breaking doors and guessing that she was being harassed, threw herself out the window from the third floor. Fortunately, she did not fall to death, as she fell into a snowdrift, but she broke her arm, and she had to give up her dreams of musical education.
The prosecutor in this trial expressed malicious doubt: “I don’t understand,” he said, turning to the girl, “why were you so scared, throwing yourself out the window? After all, you, mademoiselle, could have fallen to your death!” To this, the angry Plevako immediately replied: “Don’t you understand? So I’ll explain it to you now! In Siberia, in the taiga, there is an animal called the ermine, which is blessed by nature with the purest white fur. When he runs from pursuit, and a dirty puddle gets in his way, the stoat prefers to accept death rather than get dirty in the mud!